Manchester Mayor blamed as more babies admitted to hospital with breathing problems
- Helen Clarke
- Apr 25
- 2 min read
Helen Clarke
Hospital admissions for babies and toddlers with breathing problems increased by a third in one year - reveals campaigning network Mums for Lungs.
Parent campaigners say the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and city councillors have failed to get pollution under legal levels - and this is contributing to an epidemic of serious lung and respiratory problems.
Dr Sinead Millwood - an NHS GP in Levenshulme said: "All the evidence shows that there is a clear connection between high levels of air pollution and respiratory conditions.
"Air pollution affects us from before birth through to old age, with children particularly at risk as they are growing and developing.
"I often see kids with these preventable illnesses and wish our leaders would take the action needed to address this."
Mums for Lungs submitted Freedom of Information requests to Manchester University Foundation NHS Trust - which show that in the last two years nearly 8,500 children were admitted to the specialist paediatric respiratory services at the Trust or seen as outpatients.
The group believe that the unusually high levels of pollution in Manchester are to blame for the increase in poor respiratory health.
In December 2023 the Greater Manchester Combined Authority scrapped its planned Clean Air Zone after agreeing to reach air pollution targets set by the UK Government - it is currently not meeting these targets.
A Clean Air Greater Manchester spokesperson said: "Poor air quality is a national health emergency and these figures demonstrate the serious impact it is having for people and families in our city-region.
"We are resolutely committed to cleaning up the air that we breathe and making the city-region a cleaner and healthier place to live in. The latest data shows that air pollution is overall falling here.
"This is being driven by our investment in the Bee Network and the transition to cleaner buses across the region, which will be further supported by the measures set out in our government-backed GM Clean Air Plan which will improve air quality faster than a charging clean air zone."
520 more children under 18 with serious breathing difficulties were admitted between 2023 and 2024 than the previous period to the Manchester University Foundation NHS Trust.
The Trust covers 10 hospitals including Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Admissions and Outpatient attendances under specialty Paediatric Respiratory Medicine Service rose by 13% from 3,989 to 4,509.
Greater Manchester's Combined Authority says nitrogen dioxide in the region has fallen since 2020 and has agreed to allocate £160 million of its £243 million Transforming Cities Fund to develop a cycling and walking fund to encourage more people to travel sustainably and reduce vehicle pollution.